


Like Poetry to Wine

by a_pious_cruelty



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-11
Updated: 2013-02-11
Packaged: 2017-11-28 22:11:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/a_pious_cruelty/pseuds/a_pious_cruelty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first thing Pepper’s new assistant does is throw out her coffee.</p>
<p>In which Darcy is Pepper's assistant and Pepper has earned good things.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Poetry to Wine

**Author's Note:**

> Probably the fluffiest thing I've written in some time. Just some feel good femslash.

The first thing Pepper’s new assistant does is throw out her coffee.

“What?” Pepper says, after Darcy tells her. “Why would you do that?”

“Trust me, you’re going to like this better,” Darcy assures her, holding up a mug. “Go on.”

“Darcy,” Pepper says, gearing up for a conversation on boundaries, but Darcy just pushes the mug up to Pepper’s lips. Pepper takes a sip, reluctantly. “Oh,” she says, and then takes a longer sip. “That’s good.”

Darcy grins. “Told you.” But then her grin slips away, and she bites her lower lip. “You’re not mad, are you? I mean, I know that was kind of crossing a line, but I couldn’t let you keep drinking inferior coffee.”

Pepper dismisses Darcy’s worries with a wave of her hand. “It’s fine,” she says. “Just ask me next time.”

Darcy gives her a salute and backs out of Pepper’s office. “Will do, boss.”

Other than that incident, Darcy turns out to be a pretty good assistant. She’s nothing like Natalie—or rather, Natasha. Natasha was coolly professional and reserved. Darcy could outtalk Tony, which Pepper has to admit is an impressive feat. Darcy never fails to be professional with the clients and businessmen who end up at her desk, but in the privacy of Pepper’s office, Mr. Singer becomes “that weird guy with the butt chin. You remember him, right? Yeah, he was here to bug you again but I told him you were busy.” 

Pepper tries not to smile when Darcy says things like that, so as not to encourage her. But Darcy always grins at her, like she knows Pepper’s amused but trying not to show it.

It’s not hard to like Darcy. About two weeks after Darcy starts, Tony comes into Pepper’s office and says, “I’ve heard Thor talk about Darcy, but actually meeting her is something else. Do you need her? Because I still don’t have a PA, and—”

“Isn’t she a bit young for you?” Pepper says, before she can bite her tongue. She and Tony aren’t together anymore, haven’t been together for a while, but she can’t quite push down the surge of jealousy.

Tony laughs. “Pep, I don’t want to sleep with her. Don’t get me wrong, she’s got an amazing body—do you think she ever did modeling?” He pulls out a tablet to start searching, but he stops when Pepper glares at him. “She’s funny, is all. I like her.”

“No,” Pepper says. “I’m keeping her.”

Tony pouts for a while, and then he starts to explain why it would be a fantastic idea to install a fireman’s pole that goes through every floor of the Avengers Tower.

“Not going to happen,” Pepper says and returns to her work.

“Pep,” Tony whines.

Pepper ignores him until he leaves, muttering about how he doesn’t even need her approval, it’s his money and his building. Pepper makes a mental note to find a PA for him. Though the other Avengers and SHIELD mostly keep Tony in line, it’s clear that he needs a new Pepper in his life. Their break-up was amicable, and they’re still friends, but Pepper’s not his keeper anymore. He needs someone else to tell him he what can’t do.

Darcy pokes her head in after Tony’s gone. “Hey, was that okay?” she asks. “I don’t know the policy on ex-boyfriends visiting.”

“You couldn’t have stopped him,” Pepper says. “And I don’t mind, really.”

“I do have a Taser,” Darcy says. “Unless he’s in the suit, I can stop him.”

Pepper blinks. “Why do you have a Taser? And please don’t taze Tony.”

“All right, I won’t,” Darcy says. There’s a note of disappointment in her voice, like she really would like to taze Tony. “It comes in handy. One time I tazed Thor. It was pretty awesome.”

This alarms Pepper, and it makes her suspect that there’s something more to Darcy Lewis, something she’s hiding.

“So Tony’s cool, I got it,” Darcy says. “Don’t forget about the one o’clock with the Mortons. How about Italian for lunch?”

“Uh, yeah,” Pepper says. Darcy’s nothing like Natasha, but could she be another SHIELD agent in disguise?

“Great, I’ll order from Scalini’s. I hope they send up the same delivery boy they did last time. He was cute.”

When Darcy’s gone, Pepper puts aside her work and brings up the personnel files.

\-------

“So am I in trouble?” Darcy asks when Pepper has her come into her office.

“No,” Pepper says. “Please, have a seat.”

Darcy sits and folds her hands in her lap, clearly going for demure. “Is this about the chocolate truffles? Because you totally needed those. It’s a justified business expense. In fact, they serve a medical purpose. I’ll argue it to the board.”

“It’s not about the truffles,” Pepper says. “You realize that I didn’t have much of a part in your hiring process.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Darcy says.

It’s not the response Pepper was expecting “What does that mean?”

“Oh man, did they not tell you?” Darcy rolls her eyes. “SHIELD set me up here. Not like a spy or something, though that would be really cool. I keep asking Natasha and Clint to show me some moves, but they think I should just stick with the Taser.”

Pepper stares at Darcy.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” Darcy says. “SHIELD just wanted me somewhere they could keep an eye on me.”

Not an assuring statement. “Why’s that?” Pepper asks.

“I hacked into their system once and helped break Thor out of their base,” Darcy says. “It’s dumb. Tony’s hacked them like a million times. Maybe they should get the message to improve their security.”

“Oh,” Pepper says, because she doesn’t know what else to say. All Darcy’s file had told her was that Darcy had a degree in political science and that she had done an internship with Dr. Jane Foster—that, presumably, was when she’d met and tazed Thor. Now she knows that Darcy’s here because she’s a security risk.

“I know how that sounds,” Darcy says, when Pepper doesn’t speak. “I’m not some kind of criminal mastermind, I swear. The only law-breaking I’ve done is watching pirated movies online. And I’m sure the makers of We Bought a Zoo are crying themselves to sleep because I didn’t pay ten bucks to see it.”

“Okay,” Pepper says. “Good. I mean, pirating isn’t good, but I’m glad you’re not a criminal.”

Darcy stands up. “And I’m glad we got that settled, boss. I’m going to call that Carey dude and tell him he’s an idiot. But, you know, in a nice way.”

So Darcy’s not a SHIELD agent, just good at hacking. Something to monitor, but Pepper can’t see Darcy as much of threat. She’s the girl who does Pepper’s most tedious paperwork without complaint, who cracks jokes over Chinese food at lunch, who sticks around with Pepper when she has to work late.

Pepper always tells Darcy she should go home, but Darcy just shakes her head and suggests they order ice cream. She knows a place that delivers. 

One night, when Pepper’s working late once again, Darcy comes in and leans against Pepper’s desk, arms crossed. “I thought you were going to let legal handle that,” she says.

“I’m strategizing,” Pepper says.

Darcy puts her hand over the papers, and Pepper looks up at her. Darcy’s got a mischievous little smirk on her face. “We’re going out.”

“Uh,” Pepper says. “Where are we going?”

“Out.” Darcy’s standing at the door, waiting. “Get your coat.”

“I’ve got other things to do,” Pepper says. “I can’t go out.”

“We’re going out,” Darcy says again. She gets out Pepper’s coat and holds it up. “Come on.”

It’s been a long day, and it’s been a long time since Pepper went anywhere other than work and home. She tries to convince herself that she needs to stay and finish up her work. “I guess this will keep until the morning,” she says, getting to her feet.

Darcy pumps her fist in the air. “Yes! You won’t regret this, boss.”

Pepper figures Darcy’s planning to take her to a bar, but when they pull up to the place, Pepper starts to have second thoughts about agreeing to this. “Darcy… is this a lesbian bar?”

“Yeah, it’s great,” Darcy says. “I didn’t think you’d want guys bothering you. Unless you do?”

They get out of the car, and Pepper slowly closes the door. “No,” she says.

Darcy frowns. “Hey, if you’re not okay with this, we can go somewhere else.”

“No, it’s fine,” Pepper says. “I mean, I’m not…” She gestures vaguely. “Are you?”

“I don’t like labels,” Darcy says, with a wink.

Once they’re inside the place, Pepper realizes that her biggest problem probably isn’t being straight. Dollhouse is less a bar and more a club, with loud music and women who are all about half Pepper’s age. Pepper clearly doesn’t belong here.

Before she can say anything, Darcy takes her hand and leads her over to the bar. “I’m buying you a drink,” Darcy says—or shouts, rather, over the music.

The drink Darcy buys her is bright blue and tastes of coconut. Pepper drinks it while Darcy moves her hips to the music and sips on her own drink. Before Pepper can finish, Darcy takes it out of her hand and pulls her out on to the dance floor.

Pepper tries to protest, but Darcy just shakes her head. Maybe she can’t hear what Pepper’s saying. At first, Darcy just dances facing Pepper. (Pepper’s never been good at dancing, so she just tries to move to the beat.) Then Darcy laces her fingers with Pepper’s and draws her closer, so that their bodies are touching.

It’s just dancing, Pepper tells herself. There’s nothing inappropriate about what they’re doing. But then Darcy puts Pepper’s hands on her shoulders and wraps her arms around Pepper’s waist. She smiles shyly up at Pepper before she rests her head on Pepper’s shoulder.

Pepper’s heart is pounding. She tries to say something, but she can’t figure out what to say, doesn’t even really know what’s happening here.

When she feels Darcy’s lips brush over her neck, she convinces herself she only imagined it.

\-----------

Nothing changes between them. Darcy does her work; Pepper does her work. They don’t talk about what happened or didn’t happen at Dollhouse. Pepper’s grateful for that.

Still, she can’t help but look at Darcy differently. She’s aware that's a problem.

“Why did you take the internship with Dr. Foster?” Pepper asks, when she and Darcy are sharing a late lunch. “You were a polisci major, right? What got you interested in astrophysics?”

Darcy shrugs. “I didn’t really think about the astrophysics part. I figured any internship would just involve getting someone coffee, you know? I just wanted something to do during the summer, other than wait tables.”

Pepper’s quiet for a moment. Darcy didn’t even think about it, but that decision changed the course of her life. “Do you ever regret it?” she asks.

Darcy puts down her sandwich and chews thoughtfully for a few seconds. “No,” she says. “It was pretty awesome—kind of scary, yeah, but also awesome.”

“But it changed everything for you,” Pepper says. “You wouldn’t be here if that hadn’t happened.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Darcy says, with a smile. “I like it here. I like working for you.”

Pepper looks away and takes in a breath. “Good,” she says. “That’s good.”

Darcy chuckles quietly. “Yeah,” she says.

Pepper looks back just in time to catch Darcy licking a blob of mayonnaise from her finger. “Sorry,” she says, laughing again. “I’m so gross, I know.”

“You’re not gross,” Pepper says. Her voice is softer than she intended.

Darcy tilts her head to the side, gives Pepper a knowing look.

Pepper’s heart kicks in her chest. “So,” she says, “how’s it going with, uh—”

“Mr. Pearson?” Darcy supplies.

“Yes,” Pepper says. “How did he respond?”

“I’m glad you asked, boss,” Darcy says. And like that, they’re back to normal.

\-------------

Every few weeks, Pepper and Tony meet to catch up on what’s happening in their lives. Tonight, they’re having dinner at one of Pepper’s favorite French restaurants. 

Pepper’s hoping that the meeting will get her mind off Darcy. She doesn’t want to think about Darcy, but for the past few days, she's been dwelling on that night at Dollhouse. She can’t stop remembering the feeling of Darcy’s arms around her, the brush of her lips over Pepper’s neck. And she can’t stop examining every interaction they’ve had since then, trying to figure out where they stand. 

It doesn’t help that Tony opens the conversation with, “So, are you seeing anyone?”

Pepper thinks, involuntarily, of Darcy. “No,” she says. 

But Tony detected her slight hesitation. “No, but there’s someone?”

“No as in no,” Pepper says. 

Tony tilts his head. “I don’t think so,” he says, pointing his fork at her. “You know we know each other too well, Pepper. You’ve got someone on your mind. Spill.”

Pepper takes a long sip of her wine. “It’s not--it’s complicated. I don’t want to talk about it.”

Tony hums in his throat. “Now this sounds interesting. Is it someone I wouldn’t want to see you with?” He leans forward. “Pepper. You’re not seeing a supervillain are you?”

“What? No,” Pepper says. “I had enough insane adventures dating you.”

“Are you sure? No Victor von Doom, no Norman Osborn?” Tony says. “Keep in mind, some of these guys have secret identities.”

“It’s not a guy,” Pepper says, before she can stop herself. 

Tony lights up. “Oh my God, Pepper,” he says. “You’ve become a lesbian?”

“I’m not a lesbian,” Pepper says, trying to get across her annoyance while being as quiet as possible. 

Tony’s eyebrows go up. “Bi? Bicurious? Just tell me it’s not because of me. Like, you haven’t sworn off men because I was such an ass.”

“You weren’t an ass,” Pepper says. “Not all of the time.” She sighs. “It’s not you. It’s just her.”

“What’s her name?” Tony asks. 

For a moment, Pepper’s strongly reminded of the sleepovers she went to when she was younger, where she and her friends would talk about their crushes and tease each other for not having the courage to ask them out. She hopes Tony won’t offer to talk to Darcy, or, God forbid, give her a note reading “Do you like Pepper? Check yes or no.”

She wouldn’t put it past Tony.

“Is it someone I know?” Tony says. No surprise he’s pushing this. 

“We’re not playing twenty questions with this,” Pepper says, turning back to her meal. 

“You know I’ll never drop this,” Tony says.

“I do know that,” Pepper mutters. She pokes at her food for a while. “Nothing’s going to come from this,” she says, finally. “I’m not going to act on this. It would be inappropriate.”

That was, of course, the wrong word to use. Now Tony’s looking even more interested. “Inappropriate? Do tell.”

“I can’t let this happen, Tony,” she says. “I’d rather just forget about it.”

Pepper can see Tony’s mind working, and her stomach drops. He’s going to figure it out. Within a few minutes, a devilish grin appears on Tony’s face. “Pepper,” he says, “you dog. Nice choice, I got to say.”

Pepper groans and puts her hand over her face. “I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

Tony moves her hand away. “Hey, it’s not like this hasn’t happened before,” he says. “I fell for my assistant, too.”

“That was different,” Pepper says. “That was... us.”

“And this is you and her,” Tony says. “What’s different?”

“I have authority over her,” Pepper says.

“I had authority over you,” Tony points out.

“Yes, but--” Pepper shakes her head. “You and I had a unique relationship. And I became CEO.”

“You could make Darcy CEO, if that would help,” Tony says.

Pepper shoots him a look. “Why are you so invested in this?”

“Because I want you to be happy,” Tony says. 

It’s a genuine expression of care, something that Tony rarely gives out. Pepper doesn’t really know how to respond, not under these circumstances. 

“You haven’t dated at all,” Tony says. 

“I’m busy,” she says. 

“Of course you are,” Tony says. “But is that the only reason?” 

It’s something she could brush off. She could call him out on his armchair psychology. But Tony’s always had an annoying talent for reading people. “Maybe not,” she says. “You know, I was in love with you for a long time, Tony. Long before anything ever happened between us.”

She expects him to make a joke, but he stays quiet. “It was hard to open up to you,” she says. “Especially considering all the risks you took. Everything you did to yourself. You scared me, almost all the time. I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”

“Darcy’s not Iron Man,” Tony says.

“I know,” Pepper sighs. “But I’m still part of your world, and she’s being watched by SHIELD.”

“What’d she do to them?” Tony asks.

“Hacked them.”

Tony laughs. “That’s awesome. I like her even more.” He sobers quickly. “All right, so you two are both tangentially at risk of attack. Possibly. And she’s your assistant, so you have power over her. It’s an unequal relationship. But after all you’ve been through, don’t you think you deserve a chance at something good?”

Pepper looks away, catching sight of a couple across the room. They’re holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. It’s sickly sweet. 

“Just answer me this: haven’t you earned that chance?”

Pepper looks back at Tony. “I don’t know.”

“Of course you have,” Tony says, evenly. He’s so certain; Pepper could almost be convinced. 

“That’s not how life works, Tony,” Pepper says.

Tony just shrugs. 

\----------

“Let’s do a ladies’ night,” Darcy says.

Pepper looks back at Darcy. Pepper’s already got her coat on; she was ready to go home. “Ladies’ night?” she repeats.

“You know, pizza, booze, dumb romantic movies,” Darcy says, counting off on her fingers. “What do you say?”

“Oh, uh, sure, I guess,” Pepper says. She grabs her purse. 

“Great! We’ll go to my place.”

“What? As in now?” Pepper says.

“Yup.”

Somehow, Pepper finds herself in Darcy’s car. She didn’t have any plans, other than drinking a glass of wine and attempting to read the book she’s been trying to read for two months. Still, she doesn’t think this is a good idea. She’s been trying to keep her relationship with Darcy as professional as possible, despite Tony’s proddings. Ladies’ night isn’t exactly professional.

But it’s not like a date or something. They’re just spending the evening together, as friends. No cause for concern. 

Pepper’s surprised when they pull up to the Avengers Tower. “You live here?” she asks, as they get out of the car. 

“Sort of,” Darcy says.

“What does that mean?” They’re able to get into the building, which at least means Darcy has authorized access. 

“Well, I have taken up residence in the Tower,” Darcy says, “but I’m not sure that Tony realizes I’m living here. So I don’t exactly have permission to live here.”

Pepper raises an eyebrow. “And you told me you weren’t a criminal,” she says.

Darcy grins. “Darcy Lewis, criminal squatter.”

They end up on one of the floors with guest quarters. From the sparse decorations, Pepper figures Darcy hasn’t been squatting here long. 

“In here,” Darcy says, leading Pepper into the living area. 

The lights are low, and the fireplace is on. There’s a bottle of wine in a chiller, next to the couch. On the small table in front of the couch, there’s an assortment of chocolates in a heart-shaped box. 

Darcy sits down on the couch and pats the cushion next to her. “Come on. We’ll have some wine. Jarvis tells me this is an excellent year.”

Pepper picks up the bottle. It’s a very nice wine. “Did you steal this from Tony?” she asks.

“Steal is such a harsh word,” Darcy says. “It’s not like he’ll notice. Probably. Hopefully, since I can’t afford to replace it.”

Pepper puts the bottle on the table. “Darcy,” she says, “what’s this about?”

Darcy pops a chocolate in her mouth. “Just hanging out,” she says. She’s going for innocent, but it’s not working. She holds up the box. “Chocolate?”

Pepper doesn’t even glance at the chocolates, even though she thinks it’s her favorite brand. “This isn’t a ladies’ night,” she says. 

“Sure it is,” Darcy says. “We’re ladies, we’re spending the night, doing... stuff.” She looks away, then looks back at Pepper. There’s something suggestive in her gaze. Like Pepper hasn’t already figured this out.

“Darcy,” Pepper starts.

Darcy winces. “I don’t think I like the sound of this.”

“We can’t do this,” she says.

“We’re not even doing anything,” Darcy says. She puts her hand over Pepper’s. “Yet.”

“I’m your boss,” Pepper says. 

Darcy nods. “You sure are, boss.” She moves closer to Pepper, so that their thighs are touching.

“I’m more than ten years older than you,” Pepper says. 

Darcy squeezes Pepper’s hand. “Age is just a number.”

And then Darcy’s leaning in, and before Pepper can stop her, they’re kissing, gently. Darcy puts her hand on Pepper’s jaw and turns her head so the angle’s better. 

Pepper’s going to pull away, she really is. But somehow her lips part and then Darcy’s tongue is sliding against hers. Pepper can taste the chocolate in her mouth. Darcy lets out a small moan, and Pepper grabs her arm. 

They kiss for a few moments, nothing too intense, before they part. 

“So I have something to confess,” Darcy says, quietly.

“What’s that?” Pepper asks.

“I didn’t invite you over to eat pizza and watch movies,” she says. 

Pepper smiles. “Oh really?”

“Really,” Darcy says. “I actually invited you here to seduce you. Is it working?”

Pepper looks down. “Uhm.” She nods and looks at Darcy. “Yes,” she whispers. 

They’re kissing again, and Pepper’s ignoring the voice in her head that’s yelling this is wrong. It feels good, and didn’t Tony tell her that she’d earned something good?

When Darcy’s hands slide down Pepper’s sides and her thumbs nudge up under Pepper’s shirt, the voice in Pepper’s head stops saying no and starts saying yes.

\------------

The next morning, Darcy makes Pepper coffee in the main kitchen of the Tower. She takes the bag of coffee out of a Bisquick box. “I have to hide it or Thor will use it all,” she says, “and Thor doesn’t know how to bake.”

Darcy’s just handed Pepper a cup when Tony walks in. Darcy freezes. “Oh, uh, morning,” she says. “You usually aren’t around at this time.”

“No, I--” He stops, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“She’s been living in one of your guest suites,” Pepper says. The coffee is the same stuff Darcy gives her at work, so it’s delicious. 

“Huh,” Tony says and shrugs. 

“You don’t have a problem with that?” Darcy says.

“I guess not,” Tony says. “I’ve certainly got enough room. You’re not going to try to kill us, are you?”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Darcy says, grinning. She pours another cup of coffee. “Here, have some of my favorite brew. It’s the least I can do, since I don’t plan on paying rent.”

Tony accepts the mug. “Well, if your mind’s made up.” He shrugs again and takes a sip. “So, I’m assuming you two are sleeping together now.”

Pepper should be shocked, but she’s been around Tony long enough that nothing he says, no matter how blunt, shocks her anymore. 

“Yeah, I was hoping you’d be okay with that too,” Darcy says. “Are you?”

“As long as you make her happy,” Tony says, smiling at Pepper. “I assume I don’t need to give you the shovel talk, Darcy.”

“No, I’m good,” Darcy says. She looks at Pepper. “You’d have to be some kind of an idiot to break her heart.”

Tony laughs. “Yeah, you’re right about that. So I should probably leave you two alone now.”

Darcy sits down next to Pepper and puts her arm around Pepper’s shoulders. “If you don’t mind,” Darcy says.

“All right, I get it,” Tony says. “Just so you know, for future reference, I am totally up for a threesome.”

Pepper glares at Tony, who throws up his hands in surrender. “Forget it,” he says. “I’m leaving.”

Once they’re alone again, Darcy says, “So I looked at your schedule, and you’ve got nothing planned for next Saturday. I was thinking... maybe you want to take me out on a date?”

Pepper smirks. “Take you out? I haven’t dated in a while, but I don’t think it’s customary for one person to ask another person to ask them out.”

“Well,” Darcy says, “I did ask you out on this date.”

Pepper arches an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t really call that a date. More like a seduction. And, I might add, not a very good one.”

Darcy takes her arm away. “Hey, I take exception to that,” she says. “I had wine and chocolates and low lighting. That was a great seduction. And it worked.”

Pepper has to give her that much. “True,” she says. “So we’ll go to Club A, at eight. I’ll pick you up.”

“All right,” Darcy says. “It’s a date.”


End file.
